Homeless memorial counts 55 lost Santa Cruz lives in 2018

Share this:

Phil Kramer, director of the Homeless Services Center, welcomes attendees to the 20th Annual Homeless Memorial on Thursday morning, remembering the 55 homeless individuals who died in the county in 2018. (Dan Coyro — Santa Cruz Sentinel)

SANTA CRUZ — Santa Cruz County’s homeless population appeared to be dying at older age in 2018.

In statistics released Thursday by Santa Cruz County health nurse Matt Nathanson at the 20th Annual Homeless Memorial, the average age of a person in this county dying while on the streets, in their car, in medical care or temporary housing was nearly 56 years old during 2018. The average age of an American at death nationwide is just short of 79 years old, though the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released a report earlier this month saying overall life expectancy has been on the decline for the past two years. The overall number of people dying homeless this year also increased over previous years.

Nathanson, standing in the Homeless Services Center cafeteria in front of about 100 people gathered for the memorial, wondered if the increasing seniority of those who died was a nod to increasing lifespans, or a revelation that more senior citizens are living homeless. Seven of this year’s 55 homeless deaths included those who were older than 70 years.

“More people are dying homeless and we’re doing a better job of keeping track of it, and, I don’t know whether to say it’s good or bad news, people are dying older,” Nathanson said. “I think some of that, just anecdotally, is the fact that we’re seeing more homeless seniors. So, that’s why that’s not good news. It’s good that people are living longer, but I fear that it’s partly driven by the fact that we’re seeing more homeless seniors.”

Behind the numbers

The memorial’s Annual Report on Homeless Deaths is a “best effort” by Nathanson to informally collect and organize local death statistics through his work at the Homeless Persons’ Health Project each year. Behind Nathanson as he spoke to the crowd, the names and ages of a total 74 men and women were printed on small prayer flags adorning the wall, because some who had died in 2018 had moved out of the county, or found housing after years on the streets, Nathanson said.

Nikka Mendoza was near tears as she stood to honor her “street father,” Jeffrey Roam, who had died in the previous year at age 57. The two veterans met and shared war stories one night after Mendoza helped push Roam, who was confined to a wheelchair, out of the street.

“That man came so close to my family. My kids still call him ‘grandpa.’ The way he died shouldn’t have been,” Mendoza said. “That man, with the little bit that he had, went above and beyond to make sure that my kids had a motel stay for two nights, so we weren’t sleeping in the cold wet. After our van got broken into and they stole all the kids blankets’ and clothes, not a single person helped out but him.”

‘Could have been me’

Speaker Jade Yang said the event was both a sad and motivating one for her. Five years ago, she became homeless overnight after an eviction. Since first receiving help two years ago, Yang said she had gone on to obtain steady housing, a job and her sobriety.

Homeless memorial observers listen as the names of the 55 homeless who died in the county are read aloud Thursday. (Dan Coyro — Santa Cruz Sentinel)

“Looking at this wall, I feel that my name could be on this wall,” Yang said. “During my homeless life in the past four years, by God’s grace and also all the good people working in the community, I got out of the homeless situation.”

Santa Cruz High School graduate Allen Schlumbrecht remembered a friend who had died, while both were living “out there.” As with Yang, Schlumbrecht, who formerly served in the U.S. Navy, vowed “you’re not going to see my name up there for a long time.”

Homeless Services Center board member Sibley Simon announced during the event the launch of a new effort to build a permanent homeless memorial at the nearby Evergreen Cemetery, owned by the Santa Cruz Museum of Art & History. An unoccupied plot has been identified, and organizers are working with the Arts Council Santa Cruz County to solicit memorial design proposals.